Sierra's birth story

Where to begin? First of all, I was scared to go into labor on my own. 5% of me wanted to so everything would be more natural, but 95% of me thought it would never happen for any of my babies. {I was induced with the previous girls. With Seoul I was induced twice. She didn't come out the first induction so a week and a half after her due date they induced again. With Sydney I was induced a week early because with diabetics they prefer births at 39 weeks to eliminate possible problems.} So when natural labor happened... yes, I was terrified!

Due date: May 6

Sierra's birth date: April 16 (yes, three weeks "early" although I admit I question that)

I woke up around 4:30 AM having contractions. They were about 20 minutes apart so I just slept in between not even realizing they were serious and thinking they would subside. Kelley went to work around 6:15 AM. The girls got up and wanted breakfast around 7:15 AM. Between the contractions and a low blood sugar episode, I did not love the idea of getting up but impatient girls didn't let me indulge. Super uncomfortable, I called my sister-in-law to come play with the girls. Obviously naive, I still thought the contractions would lengthen out again. Since I told my SIL the contractions were about 20 minutes apart she took her time coming since she had planned to do housework and errands this morning. While I was waiting the contractions increased in frequency, length, and most definitely pain - ouch. Kelley and I were messaging and I kept telling him I was fine.

This sounds so silly but looking back on the course of events I just didn't know what to expect, and I was partially in denial because we were NOT ready. No newborn clothes were washed, the car seat was unwashed, still bagged up in the attic, and I didn't have a bag packed.

By 8:33 AM I sent a text to Kelley that the contractions were every 5-ish minutes, lasting 30-40 seconds. I wasn't really tracking them because I was trying to take care of the girls. Pretty sure they needed 4 or 5 courses of breakfast this morning. I picked up the house. I tried to pack a bag. At one point I knelt on the floor in pain and the girls thought it would be fun to jump on me to try and wrestle. That felt just fantastic. Kelley asked if I'd called the doctor, and I hadn't. At that point I realized the baby was going to be born today and I got scared. I wasn't ready!

Kelley kept asking if I needed him to come home. I didn't know - I've never gone into labor! By 9:17 AM my SIL still wasn't at my house. Kelley called and when he heard me he immediately said he was coming home. [Ironically he had just sent an email that morning stating that he'd be out on paternity leave starting April 29th because that is the date we had discussed induction at yesterday's doctor appointment. Then he had to send another email that he was leaving because his wife is in labor! Haha!] Kelley sent a text on his drive home: I'm texting while driving 105 mph. 9:40 AM - SIL arrived, realized things progressed much quicker and started timing contractions. 2-3 minutes apart, lasting 45-90 seconds. Guess it's time to call the doctor. Kelley's second text: I almost got hit by a shovel. What??*

10:something AM - I am trying to finish packing but not getting anything done because the contractions are so darn painful and so close together. Kelley says we can get anything we need later. Good point. So off we go. Seoul was excited!

I will say this: contractions in a car are NOT fun! Kelley is driving carefully while I hold the "oh crap!" ceiling handle and try to brace myself through the turns and the pain. Then we get to Hwy 551 to get onto I-5. I stop my breathing and look up to see STOPPED TRAFFIC. My heart drops and then Kelley shows off his mad driving skillz. He hits the hazard lights and drives on the shoulder around the cars (for about a mile) - Dukes of Hazzard style! One truck tries to pull out in front of us but Kelley lays on the horn and yells, "My wife is in labor!!" (Like they can hear.) My eyes are closed, trying to focus on breathing through the pain. Then the big decision: get off I-5 and take back roads or hope it clears up soon. The contractions aren't letting up at all now. We saw flares so Kelley decided to stay on I-5. Good choice - whew!

10:52 AM - made it to the hospital where Kelley speeds up to the front door and slams on the brakes. Just kidding. He was very soft about the stop. He got the wheelchair, which I felt totally lame for using. The nurse got us into a room (we weren't registered because I thought we had time!) and helped me change because I was obviously not capable of doing it myself.

Kelley went to move the car and get the bag. I asked for an epidural. The nurse checked me and I was dilated to a full 8 cm so there was barely time for one - WHEW! (With Seoul I made it to an 8 before I broke down and had an epidural.) I'm pretty sure the nurse that put my IV line in made me hurt WORSE than the actual contractions. She had to dig around even though Kelley warned her that my veins roll. Lovely bruise afterward.

By 11:30 AM I had the epidural and it was heaven. Bless that anesthesiologist and his drugs! So then I had to wait 30 minutes for it to kick in and start the delivery process. No biggie, right? WRONG.

Freezing cold so I got a warm blanket - bliss. Happy because the epidural has kicked in.

12:20 PM - Dr Kelly came in and checked. I was dilated to a 10 and ready to push. Unfortunately the epidural was wearing off and the anesthesiologist was BUSY. What?! I chose to go ahead and just do it. Couldn't be that bad, right? They got everything ready and let me start. Oh. My. Goodness. SO glad I had epidurals for the other two deliveries. For some reason I had severe pain in my right leg when contractions occurred. (With Sydney it was severe pain in my left leg.)

My memory: the baby got stuck and it took FOREVER with many pushes. The truth: Kelley said it took three big pushes and she was out. 1:05 PM. Sierra Lin was born - 8 lb 11 oz. A head of full, dark hair. She was put on my chest and she lifted her head to look at me, multiple times. Our beautiful little miracle!

After I cuddled her for a bit they had to whisk her away to the nursery. Honestly, I don't even remember when they checked her blood sugars to discover they were super low. But away she went so Kelley sent this picture from the nursery - the first one I have after she was born (so it is almost 2 hours after.)

Our poor baby with her IV. So sad looking.

Waiting for my sweet baby to be brought back to me from the nursery.

Consensus was that she looked like Sydney her first day of life. Maybe it's the cheeks...

Sierra Lin Rice
8 lb, 11 oz, 21 inches long, born 1:05 PM

Daddy loving on his new little baby girl. Sweet moments.

* Kelley had called his family on the drive home from work. That sounds safe :) The shovel? A shovel flew out of the landscaping truck in front of him on I-205. The icing on the cake would be this: We didn't have gas the entire drive to the hospital! Kelley was praying we wouldn't run out of gas but decided not to share that small detail with me.

As we did with Sydney, the girls were the first to meet our new addition. Welcome to our crazy family, Sierra!